What is in a Cigarette

What is in the Smoke of a Cigarette

While smoking a cigarette you inhale the smoke through the lungs and then blow it out. But what is exactly in that smoke? Cigarette smoke contains about 3,800 different chemicals of which 47 are carcinogenic. Some of these substances are found naturally in tobacco, but some are added by the tobacco industry. The tobacco industry inserts the substance ammonia into tobacco. Ammonia ensures that the addiction to nicotine is enhanced. Also cocoa, licorice, and menthol are added to tobacco to make the flavor components more attractive.

The Three Best-Known Substances of a Cigarette

Nicotine
Nicotine is highly toxic, constricts blood vessels, reducing blood flows and oxygen, which also accelerates the heart rate. Nicotine makes you become addicted to cigarettes. The brain cannot go without it anymore.

Tar
Tar is made up of several substances that are either toxic or carcinogenic. Besides tar cools the lungs and forms a sticky mass and thus damage lung tissue.

Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a gas that hinders the transport of oxygen in your blood.

Substances in Cigarettes are Also Used Differently

The following substances are carcinogenic:

• Acetone (paint remover)
• Arsenic (ant poison)
• Butane (lighter gas)
• Carbon monoxide (old stoves, exhaust gas)
• DDT (insecticide)
• Phenol (deodorants)
• Propylene glycol (antifreeze)
• Benzene (napalm)
• Cadmium (batteries, rechargeable batteries)
• Formaldehyde (disinfectant and crematoria as a component of paint)
• Chrome (pigment for paint)
• Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
• 1.3 butadiene (synthetic rubber manufacture)
• Polonium 210 (Substance that murdered KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in 2006)
• Nitrosamines (balloons, condoms)
• Methanol (rocket fuel)
• Nicotine (contained in pesticide against cockroaches)
• Hydrogen cyanide (industrial pesticide)